Crowley claims vindication in Manning ruling

1/10/13 6:09 PM EST

Almost two years ago, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley branded as "ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid" the military's treatment of accused WikiLeaks source Army Pfc. Bradley Manning at a Marine Corps brig in Virginia.

At a press conference on March 11, 2011, Crowley's ultimate boss—President Barack Obama—said he'd been assured that Manning's jail conditions were "appropriate and are meeting our basic standards."

Within hours, Crowley was out of a job.

On Tuesday, a military judge effectively resolved that longstanding public disagreement in Crowley's favor. Army Col. Denise Lind found the conditions placed on Manning at the brig—near-constant monitoring, restrictions on his clothing, limits on items in his cell and his recreation—violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice by going beyond what was needed to ensure the Army intelligence analyst's safety. Lind, called the conditions "excessive" and found they were "more rigorous than necessary" to be confident Manning would make it to his court martial.

"My point when I was at the State Department was [Manning's] treatment, I thought, was excessive. And it was creating understandable concern both within our country and overseas," said Crowley, who's now a professor at George Washington University. "The last thing that we as the United States needed at the time were more questions about our detention policies, even if it involved one of our own soldiers. Obviously, the court has kind of affirmed my instincts and judged that the treatment was excessive, as well."

While Crowley's resignation under pressure made him a hero at the time to many Manning supporters, he made clear Wednesday he's still no fan of Manning and believes what he allegedly did was damaging and dangerous.

"I at the same time, and thought at the time at the State Department, that Bradley Manning stands accused of very serious charges under U.S. law: the passing of 250,000 government documents, many of them secret, to WikiLeaks. The accusation that he’s being judged on has done damage to the United States’ national interest…It also put real lives in jeopardy," Crowley told HuffPo. "So, I think the case is meritorious in my judgment, but, obviously, as an American citizen he’s innocent until proven otherwise and I thought that his treatment in the brig at Quantico was inconsistent with pretrial confinement that we generally use throughout our judicial system."

The military insisted at the time that the treatment of Manning was justified because of well-founded concerns he might commit suicide. But Lind found that the limits persisted long after military psychiatrists cleared the Army intelligence officer to be placed in the general population with other detained servicemembers.

Because of the harsh conditions, the judge agreed to credit Manning 112 days off any prison sentence he receives if convicted on the various charges he faces relating to the alleged leaks. That sentence could be as long as life in prison.